Gender clinics under fire over policies and research

Gender clinics in Australia and the UK are coming under fire from doctors and academics.

Doctors and academics are blowing the whistle on poor guidelines, lack of evidence-based research, and lack of transparency about research on the outcomes for children and young people being treated for gender dysphoria.

In a letter published in The Lancet[1]on 8 December 2018, a group of doctors criticised the Guidelines used by the Royal Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic in Melbourne. The group stated that, ‘The health of transgender children is addressed with imprecise language and overplayed empirical evidence’ and the Guidelines ‘do not consider longer-term effects, including the difficult issue of de-transition’.

Women’s groups around Australia want the Federal Government to establish a parliamentary inquiry into transgender laws that will consider all developments internationally concerning the management and operation of gender clinics, and the lack of consistent policies within Australia.